Abatements result in 2,400 jobs, $108 million payroll locally

In its annual review of statements of benefits from local companies that have been awarded tax abatement,

Greencastle City Council members witnessed some eye-popping numbers.

Covering 22 abatements -- six representing real property (real estate) and 16 personal property (equipment) -- calculations based on CF-1 forms submitted to City Council for current tax abatement projects, nearly 2,400 jobs with a payroll in excess of $100 million have been created.

According to Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Executive Director Kristin Clary, the abatement figures total:

-- Total number employed: 2,377.

-- Total annual payroll for number employed: $108,067,129.

-- Average annual wage per job: $45,464.

-- Total real property capital represented (six projects): $54,057,072.

-- Total personal property capital represented (16 projects): $223,424,663.

Running individually through the statement of benefits, the City Council unanimously approved the continued abatements for Premium Brands (formerly Ascena), Chiyoda USA, Crown Equipment Co., Heartland Automotive and Phoenix Closures/Cuatro.

Denied, meanwhile, was a resolution affirming IAC (International Automotive Components) Greencastle for tax abatement on equipment granted in 2011 and further abatement on equipment granted in 2012.

The Council denied a similar request from IAC last year when the company was in the midst of closing its doors on Fillmore Road.

“I’m actually kind of surprised to see they had the gall to show up again,” Mayor Bill Dory noted.

Veronica Pejril, noting that the IAC plant is in her ward, made the motion for denial, and the vote was unanimous.

Overall, things were more positive. The real bright spots are Crown Equipment and Phoenix Closures, both of which exceeded the employment numbers forecast in their abatements.

“Crown is a good one,” Clary praised. “They expected to grow but they didn’t anticipate this much.”

Now also working out of the old TechnoTrim/Dixie Chopper building on the north side of State Road 240 along with its expanded facilities on the south side of the road, Crown is operating with $33.2 million payroll, Clary reported.

Meanwhile, she called Phoenix “another success story,” noting that the company has “more than met its employee obligation” after converting an eyesore into a showplace on the old Greencastle Manufacturing site.

The Council meeting also saw two new abatement requests introduced with resolutions declaring an economic revitalization area -- a precursor to making the sites eligible for tax abatement -- being passed for Chiyoda on a project featuring $2.9 million in new equipment and for Greencastle Sunrise Properties, the old Mallory site at 1701 Indianapolis Rd., owned by John Zeiner.

The 14.1-acre Sunrise site that features ingress-egress via a stoplight on Indianapolis Road at State Road 240 is expected to see construction of a 60,000- to 100,000-square-foot building, Clary told the Council.

She called it an “opportunity for a structure to be built to serve a company that’s interested,” resulting in “some job retention and some job creation.”

“There are still a lot of unknowns,” Clary said, while Zeiner declined to elaborate.

“It would be great to have something there in a very visible spot,” Council President Mark Hammer said prior to unanimous approval of the resolution.

Chiyoda, operating with 260 employees and an $11.4 million payroll, is expected to be represented at the August City Council meeting by Kevin Redding, the first American president of a Chiyoda facility, Clary said.